London’s best alfresco drinking spots with Gin Mare

London’s best alfresco drinking spots with Gin Mare

Posted on 15 August 2017 • Written By Promotion

If you didn’t make it to the Mediterranean this summer, you can still enjoy some sunshine by heading to one of London’s alfresco spaces for a bespoke Gin Mare cocktail. The premium gin, made in a pot still in the Spanish fishing town of Vilanova, near Barcelona, blends savoury and herbaceous pan-Mediterranean botanicals including basil, thyme, rosemary and Arbequina olives to create an intriguing and refreshingly unique flavour. One sip of this smooth-as-silk spirit evokes the warm sea breezes, lazy sunsets and gentler pace of life of the Mediterranean coast – set this feeling against the backdrop of a beautiful outdoor space on a balmy evening, and you’ll find there’s no better place to be this summer than right here in London. Gin Mare has teamed up with six of the capital’s coolest bars, each of which has created a bespoke summer cocktail incorporating the spirit. Now you just have to decide which bar – and which cocktail – to pick first…

Out of the same Drake & Morgan stable as The Folly, The Drift, et al, this “eclectic” bar/restaurant behemoth in the shadow of St Paul’s Cathedral pulls off the please-all style of its elder siblings, with a an easy all-day menu. The Happenstance also wins approval for its comfy surrounds, including a partially covered, colourful outdoor terrace.

In the heart of Brick Lane, Juju’s is a melting pot of art, music, performance and community, which boasts a healthy roster of on-site entertainment in an edgy outdoor setting, alongside signature cocktails, craft beers and organic wines.

Overlooking Trafalgar Square, Bronte is named after the square’s famous resident, Lord Nelson aka the Duke of Bronte. The bright space has a deliciously buzzy atmosphere, and the smart terrace bar serves great cocktails. Meanwhile, on-trend ingredients pepper the all-day menu: think prawn ceviche with coconut dressing and a juicy prawn and chorizo Scotch egg.

This beautiful terrace restaurant is dressed with twinkling fairy lights and foliage under a retractable canvas roof. Diners choose from an all-day menu which features daily-changing international specials, alongside Champagne cocktails and helpfully categorised wines – the perfect retreat during the summer sunshine.

Set behind a Dickensian-style frontage, this quirky, fun-loving bar and restaurant now has a new alfresco bar. From inside, the kitchen produces healthier versions of dude food, including various bao buns, while the bar specialises in Japanese whisky, offering top drams and fabulous cocktails.

The star (pun intentional) feature of this casual pub is its wraparound terrace which overlooks Hackney Downs. Pop in for fun cocktails and affordable vino, while street-food the kitchen’s style, featuring chicken wings and burgers. Meet-the-brewer sessions, quizzes, stand-up comedy, and live music add to the schedule of fun.